Spark energy added £280 worth of charges in 1 day?!

nikiburd

@Robin9 i am trying to find the meter reads i called up with when i moved in. If i cant find them then the SAR will have the contents of that call and the reads. 

Gerry1

The bill's Usage Breakdown (what an unfortunate heading !) shows that the higher reading is the night time one.

The estimated usage is extraordinarily high, 3673kWh is about a year's worth in just one summer month.  That suggests possibilities such as the meter has been misread or that it's gone rogue.

Photographs of the meter, please, showing today's day and night readings.  Then do the same tomorrow so that we can see whether it's really clocking up such massive consumption.

The OP also needs to carry out the usual sanity checks:-

• Switch everything off at the main switch next to the meter and make sure that no circuits stay live.  Note both register  readings and leave it switched off for a couple of hours.  If there's a small red light marked '800 Imp/kWh' or similar, make sure it doesn't even flash once; if it's an old meter, make sure that the spinning disk doesn't move. Read the registers again and make sure the readings are exactly the same.
  
• Switch back on at the meter, switch on an electric kettle, fan heater, tumble dryer etc and make sure the red light starts flashing or the disk starts moving.
  
• Look at the number on the meter and make sure it's the same as the one on the bill.

Robin9

The "Admin" and "Late Payment"  appear to be the same terms for the same thing.  Looking at thie website there is a sum" now due"  - I suspect you have not read this up, assuming that paying a DD was enough, and that in not paying this has triggered the Admin/Late Payment charges and Smart are playing catch-up.

But the basic causes seems to be not reading the meter or the bills.

nikiburd

@Gerry1
Many thanks for your message i will do this when i get home. And will post up the pics so you can have a look. 
Thanks again.

macman

First thing to do is submit current reads and get them to produce an updated bill. That should reduce your arrears dramatically. Then, start making your monthly payments on time or you will incur further late payment charges. Finally, find out what the admin payments are for (as opposed to the late payments, which are in the t and c's) and dispute these as necessary.
As long as you have meter reads from the start, it's very easy to calculate exactly what you owe: the bill is made up of a units day rate @bp, c units night rate @dp, e days of standing charge @ fp. You calculate the units used by subtracting the closing reads from the opening reads, just the same as on your bill. Add VAT @ 5% and that's the total. 
You will know how much you have already paid towards this from your bank statements.
Ongoing, give reads at least monthly to avoid this repeating itself.
And, while you are in dispute, ask Spark to switch you to their cheapest tariff-they cannot refuse that.

nikiburd

@Gerry1
Did the reads last night see above and have done them again today. 
I did the checks you asked and meter reads stayed the same while the power was off at the breaker. 
Will attach some pics 

macman

Robin9 said:

The "Admin" and "Late Payment"  appear to be the same terms for the same thing.  Looking at thie website there is a sum" now due"  - I suspect you have not read this up, assuming that paying a DD was enough, and that in not paying this has triggered the Admin/Late Payment charges and Smart are playing catch-up.

But the basic causes seems to be not reading the meter or the bills.

If the OP was on DD until recently, then, if Smart thought, rightly or wrongly, that the monthly payment was insufficient, why did they not contact her and advise that they were increasing the DD to recover the (theoretical) arrears? They cannot, in one fell swoop, bill her for each month they thought she was in arrears at £35 a pop for 'late payment'. Once the billing is redone based on actual readings, then the vast majority of the amount due will be these outrageous late payment charges.

nikiburd

@macman
I was always on a dd until August when i paid it over myself. I called them so they were aware. 
Submitted reads over the phone to Gary. But will submit again and ask for a new bill. Its so hard getting hold of someone to talk to there. 
I will take your advice and ask re tariff too many thanks 

Robin9

Comparing the Estimates of 23/8 and the Actuals of today they are not too far out - 19173 and 19588 ; 40224 and 41412 - if anything a slight under estimate.

Your issues is those Late Payment/Admin charges 

Gerry1

I think the OP has a good case to get all the Late Payment / Admin Charges quashed.

• They seem to be retroactive, which is clearly unfair: the OP should argue that she did not have the opportunity to realise that they were being levied and could have avoided further ones by changing her payment schedule.

• The OP appears to have been making agreed monthly payments rather than none at all, so she is effectively being repeatedly penalised for what is effectively one so-called breach.

• The  Late Payment / Admin Charges are disproportionate, especially the cumulative effect which may even exceed the genuine electricity bill.  I doubt that this would be approved by the Ombudsman, and they might even be considered to be  Unfair Contract Terms under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.  They may also breach the supply licence conditions.
  

• If Spark were genuinely concerned about arrears they should have switched the smart meter from credit to pre-payment mode, even if this required it to be re-programmed locally because it's gone dumb after moving away from E.On.  Adding massive penalties will obviously push a vulnerable customer into permanent debt if they can't pay the normal bills promptly and in full
  

Usual disclaimers, IANAL etc so don't rely on the above, but it might be worth a try.

How old is the meter?  It's clocked up quite some usage, so if it's been installed only fairly recently that might suggest it's gone rogue.  The OP now needs to read it daily to get an idea whether the readings are realistic.  Also worth checking whether she qualifies for the Priority Services Register (e.g. child under 5), which would add weight to her case if it goes to the Ombudsman.